As the leaves tumble off the trees, a statewide collection of exhibits is encouraging people to head indoors to 26 galleries showcasing the efforts of New Hampshire’s rising (and established) artists.
United under the banner of “The State of Art,” the exhibits provide a cross-section of the work from contemporary paintings and sculpture to old-fashioned Yankee crafts and furniture.

The New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and the New Hampshire Visual Artists Coalition, a loose organization of non-profit arts organizations and galleries across the state, are coordinating the effort. Maureen Ahern, a member of the NHVAC and the director of the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery at Keene State College, spearheaded the “State of Art” movement. She says that “sometimes, people don’t really appreciate” the art and artists working in the state.

“We’re calling it ‘The State of Art’ because we truly feel New Hampshire is a state of art,” she says. “We want to let everybody know we’re not just the place you go to ski and see the White Mountains.”

The three art colonies that sprang up around the state over the last 150 years—in Dublin, and Cornish and at the Isles of Shoals—reflect the state’s artistic heritage, Ahern says, and the artistic environment continues to be strong. “I think it’s growing. We’ve got incredible craftspeople that have come here. … Artists have come here from other parts of the country. We also have wonderful historical pieces.”

The various exhibits will run September through December and cover a wide range of mediums as well as many aspects of New Hampshire life. The Franconia Heritage Museum will feature a collection of contemporary art from the White Mountain area. Meanwhile, the McIninch Gallery at Southern New Hampshire University will exhibit “Autumn in New Hampshire,” featuring five artists’ interpretations of fall in the Granite State, while the Sharon Arts Center in Peterborough will exhibit works from the Dublin Arts Colony.

NHVAC has organized themed shows in the past, but there’s never been a statewide exhibition quite like this before, Ahern says. Though the exhibits are all under the same banner, Ahern says that each show will also serve the mission of its respective gallery.

“There’s all different kinds of arts organizations, and so I just asked everyone in the state … would you be willing to plan an exhibition for these products,” she says. “We wanted to get as much variety as we could. I’m over in Keene and I wouldn’t know what’s going on up in the North Country.”

Three galleries on the Seacoast will participate. The Lamont Gallery at Phillips Exeter Academy will host “Unearth/Emerge: Works By New Hampshire’s Rising Potters,” one of the more high-profile exhibits in “The State of Art.” Nationally renowned potter Gerry Williams, who lives in Dunbarton, is guest curator and selected the 22 potters whose work will be in the show.

Lamont Gallery manager Christy Woods says “Unearth/Emerge” is a good indicator of the health of the New Hampshire art scene.

“There’s a real appreciation for handmade objects, artwork (and) crafts, and a lot of talent and dedication,” she says. “There’s a really deep pool of rising clay artists.”

Another Seacoast exhibition, “The Artists Revealed” at The Art Gallery at the University of New Hampshire, features works by the 12 members of the university’s studio art faculty.

Art Gallery director Vicki Wright says the exhibit fits in with “The State of Art” because “these people have been spending their professional careers making art, but also teaching these emerging New Hampshire artists.”

A full faculty show like “The Artists Revealed” only happens once every four or five years, according to Wright. It’s an opportunity to share the faculty’s work with the public, she says, as well as with the students they teach.

“They don’t often have an opportunity to see what their professors are making,” she says. “They might look at them only as teachers and not realize they’re professional artists.”

At the Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery in Portsmouth, the New Hampshire Art Association will hold its sixth annual Joan L. Dunfey memorial juried competition.

Artist Signe Kaleel was at the Levy Gallery last Wednesday. She’s been a member of the NHAA for 37 years and in that time, she says, New Hampshire’s artists have gotten “better and better.” Juried shows like the Dunfey competition bring out the best in her and other artists, she says.

“I can’t believe the quality of painting and art that’s being done in this state,” Kaleel says. “I think the artwork (has) improved enormously … and it’s more appreciated, too. There’s more venues for artists.”


‘The State of Art’ on the Seacoast

all galleries are free

The Artists Revealed: 2005 Studio Art Program Exhibition
Sept. 7 through Oct. 23
The Art Gallery at UNH
Paul Creative Arts Center, Durham, 603-862-3712, www.unh.edu/art.gallery
Monday through Wednesday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m.-8 p.m., weekends 1-5 p.m.

Unearth/Emerge: Works by New Hampshire’s Rising Potters
Sept. 12 through Oct. 5
reception Friday, Sept. 23, 6:30-8 p.m.
The Lamont Gallery at Phillips Exeter Academy
Frederick R. Mayer Art Center, Exeter, 603-777-3461, www.exeter.edu
Monday 1-5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Sixth Annual Joan L. Dunfey Memorial Juried Competition/Exhibition
Oct. 12 through Nov. 13
reception Friday, Oct. 14, 5-8 p.m.
Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, 136 State St., Portsmouth, 603-431-4230
www.nhartassociation.org

To view the full schedule for “The State of Art” exhibits across the state, visit www.state.nh.us/nharts.